Intent(34)

“I won’t leave you until you’re ready for me to,” I reply softly. “I have plenty of time, so take your time if you want.”

A small smile escapes and she relaxes slightly. “Thank you, Layne.”

I simply nod in reply. “Zoe, this is Frankie,” I start. “He’s a very special horse, because he happens to like me more than he likes Justin or Ace. My guess is he’ll love you, too.”

When I guide her hand to his neck, her uncertainty is apparent in how rigid her arm is. Once she touches him, she is every bit under his spell as I am every time I’m around him. “Hi, Frankie,” she coos softly. “You’re so beautiful.”

Within seconds, Zoe is lost in the attention Frankie gives her. She doesn’t realize yet that the more she concentrates on taking care of him, she’s helping herself even more. “You’re doing great, Zoe. He already loves you,” I encourage her.

Justin walks up behind us with a horse brush. “Here you are, Zoe. Why don’t you brush him? He loves that.”

“Okay,” she replies with more enthusiasm this time. She speaks to Frankie soothingly with every deliberate stroke of the brush. She makes several loops around his body, brushing out every bit of visible dirt and showering him with every ounce of love she has. The bonding time between the two of them is beautiful to watch. When it’s over, Justin makes arrangements for Zoe to come back another day.

“Layne, can you walk out to my car with me?” Zoe asks.

“Of course.”

Before we reach her car, she turns to me with tears glistening in her eyes. She places the back of her hand against her lips to hold back the sobs. After a couple of seconds of silence to regain her composure, she wipes away the tears that escaped and begins to share with me.

“Layne, I don’t know what to do.”

“Tell me what’s wrong, Zoe. Maybe I can help you.”

“I started seeing this guy, Jeremy, a while back. He was so gorgeous and so nice, you know? He came by the store to see me when I worked. He walked me to my classes at school, waited for me after school, and drove me home.” Her voice drops to just above a whisper when she continues. “He told me he loved me. Everything was so perfect, nothing like the rest of my life.”

“Then what happened?”

She won’t look at me when she speaks, the shame eating her alive. “He wanted to have sex. So I finally gave in.” She shrugs her shoulders. “It was great at first. Jeremy wanted to be around me all the time, like he was proud that I was his girlfriend. Made me feel special, important.

“When I first told him I’m pregnant, he said we’d handle everything together. I didn’t notice a pattern at first, but he started being ‘busy’ all of a sudden. Stopped walking me to class. Stopped waiting for me after school. Stopped calling. He claims he’s not the father. Now he’s telling people we broke up because I cheated on him and got pregnant with some other guy’s baby.”

Her whole body shakes as she weeps inconsolably. “I thought we’d be together when I tell my parents. They’ll kick me out of the house. They’ve always wanted a reason to get rid of me anyway, but this will just push them over the edge. I have no one else, Layne.”

“You have me, Zoe,” I promise her. “You have me, sweet girl.”





Chapter Eleven





ACE



When Layne opens the door, my eyes trail down her body, soaking in the way her simple summer dress hugs the luscious curves of her body. I’ve been a gentleman, the good guy who waits patiently until she’s ready. But I’m so far beyond ready to bury myself as deeply inside her as humanly possible. To hear my name repeatedly fall from her lips when her body yields to me and my touch. And to make her forget that any other man has ever or will ever exist—because she knows no other has a snowball’s chance in hell of pleasing her the way I do.

As an added bonus, I’ll leave her unable to walk normally for a couple of days afterward, just to let every other Joe Blow know she’s well taken care of. She’s given me a few clues that she’s ready for this step, too. Even though tonight is our first official date, I’ve spent enough time with her over the last month to know her well enough.

“Hello, beautiful. You look good enough to eat.” I’m every bit the big, bad wolf that I sound like. I could feast on her all night long.

The twinge of pink embarrassment that colors her cheeks amuses me. She’s not used to my kind of flirting. Makes me even more eager to see how she reacts to the things I’ll say to her when she’s naked and writhing underneath me. Her ex-boyfriend must’ve been a real loser.

“You look very handsome yourself, Ace,” she replies and steps aside to let me in.

Taking her hand, I pull it above her head and motion for her to turn around for me. The slinky pink material caresses her skin in all the places my hands itch to touch. “I’m torn. I don’t know if I should take you to the fair, show you off, and make all the other guys jealous…” I hesitate for a second. “Or if I should keep you here under lock and key so I can have you all to myself tonight.”

Layne smiles sweetly at me, but I immediately know better than to trust that kind of smile. “Ace, you promised me a good time at the county fair. So, you’re going to take me out and show me a good time. Your word is a verbal contract and I plan to hold you to it.”